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Unformatted text preview: Natural Resource Conservation 26/08/2009 10:36:00 Perpetual resources a resource that is inexhaustible by humans Ex: wind, geothermal (not available everywhere, depends on thickness of mantle), solar polar (most widely available), tidal These are really dependent on technology Non-renewable resources amount available is fixed, and no more are being made Need to be efficient and recycle them Ex: Oil, coal, minerals Renewable resources living resources, resources that have the ability to replenish themselves, particularly if we take care of them Ex: soil (good, healthy, rich soil takes hundreds of years to produce an inch), forests, rangeland (grassland ecosystems that humans use for livestock), wetlands (protect mainland from hurricanes, fisheries use them), wildlife, and fisheries (important source of protein around the world and recreation) Health and productivity depend on: Conservation a philosophy of managing the environment in a way that does not despoil, exhaust, or extinguish o Ex: Salmon spawn one time and die. Fisheries harvest a lot of salmon each year. Also, fisheries for things salmon eat. Also, impact salmon habitat due to dams and construction. Also, effect salmon predators by protecting eagles, seals, and whales; and importing fish that eat salmon to their habitat. Land Use Planning o Cities go on for miles o Suburban areas run into grasslands/wildlife o Cities in deserts with no islands o Condos and houses on beaches that get wiped away from hurricanes and storms Stewardship the idea of taking care of resources so that they dont become degraded o Pollution, junk, farms near marshes and trees planted on steep hillsides o Responsibilities of private landowners regarding public resources? Responsibility to air quality, soil quality, erosion Sustainability o Contour farming causes you to cut down on erosion o Share cropping different crops in same area o Crop rotation switch location and type of crop each year o Harvest the interest, keep the principal Conservation Concepts Conservation history pragmatism (Scarcity use everything that we can) and idealism (preservation keeping resource in a state where humans have no impact on it at all) Economics (if we want it, go buy it), politics, culture important (how do cultures evolve, how do they feel about the environment around them) Gifford Pinchot (first Chief of USFS) has specific notion of conservation that every tree should be cut down and regrown; he was a utilitarian; erosion...
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